Copy covers for practice

Nyrryl Cadiz

Jeremy Ross

Hello again everyone!

It’s that time again! This time I hand picked a page out of the beautiful book, “Why?” By Adam Rex and illustrated by Claire Keane.

I REALLLLLLLY had a blast making this one! Claire is incredible!

Original Art

My Remix

Thoughts??

Heather Boyd

@Jeremy-Ross
Hi again. I think it's a good copy but I find his eyes for his main character somehow evokes more desperation and yours a bit more alarm. That's what I noticed.

Jeremy Ross

@Heather-Boyd, thanks for your feedback! I can definitely see that too.

NicolaSchofield

@Jeremy-Ross this is such a great idea and nice to see all your covers in one thread. I hope you keep adding them here. Do you think you've taken away any of the styles or techniques from these to put into your own work? How did they feel to create - were some harder than others? Why?

Nyrryl Cadiz

@Jeremy-Ross it’s almost identical. Amazing master studies!!!!

Julia

@Jeremy-Ross I love your character! he is even better than the original one!

Jeremy Ross

Hi @neschof, thank you so much for your feedback. In response to your question, I feel like I learn something from each piece. I'm trying to find standout pieces that will challenge my abilities. I know it sounds weird, but I feel like I'm getting a 1-on-1 lesson from these amazing illustrators. After I'm finished with each piece, I feel a sense of accomplishment, and sometimes think about sharing my "fan-art" master copy with the original illustrator just for fun and to say thank you... That might come across weird, so I'll just share with you guys in the forum and my family (smile).

I've heard about artists doing master copies in college and in MFA programs as part of the learning curriculum; however, I never studied art until now (wink-svs) - so figured I would try to add specificity by copying children's book covers since that's the field I'm interested in.

Regarding difficulty, Dude by Dan Santat was the hardest! But then again, I challenged myself to do the entire thing in 1 layer, so that likely increased the difficulty scale 10-fold.

Regarding style, well - I am not really thinking about this too much. I hear it will come with time, but until then, I am enjoying exploring different styles and challenging myself.

Until next time...

Jeremy Ross

Hi @Nyrryl-Cadiz, thank you! I'm trying to get as close to possible without precision. I'm not using the color picker, so these copies help me understand how different artists are using color and line work.

NicolaSchofield

@Jeremy-Ross your Sophie mouse cover was one layer too since it was not digital

Jeremy Ross

Hi everyone, I’m back for yet another master copy. This time, it’s a page right out of one of my daughter’s favorite books, “Ladybug Girl”, written by Jacky Davis and Illustrated by David Soman.

This was done entirely in procreate and took me about 8 hours on and off.

Original

My Mastercopy

Pamela Fraley

This is a great idea. I'm adding it to my "to do" list.

Jeremy Ross

Thanks @Pamela-Fraley! I’m learning a lot, and I think I’m getting better with my personal pieces in the monthly contests. Can’t wait to see your master copies!

Judy Elizabeth Wilson

@Jeremy-Ross Brilliant, great exercise!

Jeremy Ross

Tribute piece for Tomie dePaola.

This one took me 9 hours from sketch to finish.

Original

My Tribute Copy

Jeremy Ross

Hi all,

As a Mexican American, my family celebrates Day of the Dead in honor of our lost loved ones. I painted the cover of The Art of Coco as a master copy since I absolutely love the movie and the art.

I did this master copy last night. I didn’t copy the cover exactly, but just stayed very loose. This was done in procreate with no after effect filters.

I’m proud of this study.

Jeremy Ross

Hi all!

Continuing on with my original thread started in Nov 2019 with more master copies. These are from The Day The Crayons Quit, illustrated by Oliver Jeffers and written by Drew Daywalt. Originals on top.

Kevin Longueil

@Jeremy-Ross These are really good!!

Jeremy Ross

Thank you @Kevin-Longueil! I suppose this is the closest thing to asking the artist directly, “How did you make this?”

Here’s another from the amazing Cori Doerrfeld, author/illustrator of The Rabbit Listened. Such a powerful book with underlying message of coping with loss. My daughter has a lionhead rabbit as a pet and she definitely brings her comfort.

Original on top.

Jeremy Ross

And another! Original is on top.